Gaining Valuable Skills

As this is my last day of the class, I have learned to become more measured and strategic in my charity. I simply won't volunteer for no reason now. I would like a purpose to volunteering like solving problems.

Over the past weeks I've also learned how to solve problems within a group. We were challenged by our living arrangements, schedules, and traveling accommodations throughout our time together. I'm leaving this trip with both civic experience and collaboration skills that can be applied in my next year with new roommates as well as in the future when I have a job.

-Shaan Desai, '16

A Life of Service

The Call of Service has been an experience that has changed my life forever. Last Friday, the 10^th of May, I served at the Catholic Worker house with the St. Francis Center. Everyone is given a card with a number on it that determines when they get to eat. I was given the job of calling card numbers and telling people whether or not they were allowed to eat. It was so hard to tell people that they had to wait to eat and some even had to wait the entire time before they were allowed to eat.

I guess reflecting on all the service I did in Denver was extremely helpful to sort out my emotions and thoughts. For a long time I wanted to be a lawyer, but now that has changed because of this trip. I have come to the conclusion that now I really don’t know what to do with my life except for the fact that I want to serve anyone and everyone I can. I can only hope that whatever it is that I am supposed to do with my life, I hope I figure it out soon. But, in the meantime, I will continue to serve others.

-Victoria Kramer, '16

Sprague Lake and Off-Trailing

Today Amy, Victoria, and I decided to hike to Sprague Lake.  Plans began to change as we got curious about the river below us.  So, we took a detour and hiked down to the river.  It was amazing to go off trail for a while because it gave me a sense of unknown adventure.  The swirling, majestic water engaged our curiosity.  As we hiked along it we came to the water treatment plant of Estes Park, but decided to go farther.  It was amazing to be out in nature with our only guide: the deer trail we were following.  Right before we turned back to try and find the trail again we saw a waterfall or high up rapids a few feet beyond us.  The water was rushing so fast that our ears were overwhelmed by the sound.  This awed and amazed me.  I felt like I was so small standing within this valley between two towering mountains next to a river rushing fast enough to block out all other sounds.  It was truly a humbling experience and I will miss it when we head back to Iowa tomorrow.

-Jessica Prowant, '14

Teamwork and Climbing Lilly Mountain

Yesterday, we climbed up Lilly Mountain. It was a long and difficult hike, but ultimately we all made it to the top and back down with only a few minor scrapes and injuries.  Climbing a mountain takes a lot of teamwork.  It’s not easy even when it is a fairly small mountain.  We all moved up and down the mountain at a different pace, but by making sure that everyone had someone with them we were able to look after each other.  One of the greatest challenges on the mountain was not the climb itself, but the presence of the snow.  The snow made the trails incredibly slick and a good number of the minor injuries were caused by slipping on the snow.  I off-trailed several times to avoid the snow, though it was often unavoidable.  One way to avoid injuries in the snow was to look where other people in the group had stepped.  We all encouraged each other and looked out for one another and gave each other advice on how to get to the top.

The view from the top of Lilly Mountain.

Ultimately climbing the mountain was an awesome experience.  Though bring lots of water, take breaks, and always climb with a group.  It makes the experience much easier and guarantees a positive experience.

-Amy West, '15

Twin Sisters Mountain Climbing

Twin Sisters Peak

I will always remember today as the day I learned how much I hate snow. It started off really cool; we went to lake Lilly an saw a moose. After that the group spilt up into 2 groups one for Lilly Mountain and one for Twin Sisters Mountain. “The boys” (as we are now referred to as) decided to tackle the harder of the two, Twin Sisters. Our first mistake was deciding to take a short cut and try to find the trail half way up the mountain to save some time. After half an hour and roughly 50 scratches, we found the trail! We followed that for about a mile, then we stopped at a rock ledge for a quick break. During the break Austin, Mark, and I decided to forget the trail and free climb the mountain. The way up was extremely difficult, but that was part of the reason I took it. Following a trail to the summit doesn’t count as climbing a mountain to me. Finally after a couple more hours and thinking we hit the peak two previous times, we reached it! After all that was said and done we were all sick of hiking and climbing. Unfortunately we still had to go back down… On the way down we hit obstacle after obstacle. At one point we were walking through waist deep snow regretting every minute of not taking the trail. Finally after countless cuts, numb hands and feet, multiple falls, and losing my shoes in the snow we worked our way down to the path! Looking back, I’m glad we took the more difficult path. We worked as a team to get up and down as safely as possible, and I can honestly say I climbed a mountain. Which was one of my main goals for the trip!

 

-Joe Peterson, '16